Five PURC teams in top three, Women record historic first win

After another clean sweep weekend from the Pakuranga United Rugby Club (PURC), they now have five teams in the top three of their respective competition leaderboards. 

The premier men continued their unbeaten run against Eden and have found themselves in third place on the table, below last year’s Gallagher Shield finalists Manukau Rovers and Ponsonby. 

They find themselves on the road this weekend once again to face a winless Otahuhu side and an opportunity to edge themselves to a top-two spot on the ladder. 

It’s been a dream start to the season for the PURC premier reserves and under 21s, going unbeaten in their first five rounds. 

The premier reserves are currently third place in their competition and the under 21s are in first place. 

Meanwhile, the PURC U85kg side defeated rural south Auckland rivals Karaka in the first round of the National Cup. They have advanced to the second round of the tournament where they face the strong Ponsonby Hustlers.  

Belles battle to historic first win  

The Pakuranga Belles kicked off their Women’s 10s season on the weekend with a historic first win. 

Going through their inaugural 2022 season winless, Saturday’s result came after a long, committed pre-season. 

“The players started coming together in early February, with many new faces to rugby and got stuck into a three-month pre-season,” says coach Matt Clark. 

A tough first-up assignment saw the Belles come up against women’s rugby powerhouse College Rifles, who the Belles had lost to in preseason.  

With 10 debutants, the Belles got out to a 12-0 lead courtesy of a strong start and tries to player-coaches Manu Mehau and Megan Grayson. The game settled down and College Rifles came back hard, landing a flurry of tries in the 10 minutes before halftime to take a 27-12 lead into the half.  

An impressive second-half performance saw the Belles keep College Rifles scoreless, and run in 26 points, with tries to captain Mele Maliepo, Lua Akana, Jess Richmond and another to Manu.  Olivia Sanders and Cassandra Keenan kicked 4 conversions between them, the game finishing up 38-27 to the Belles. 

“It was a great way to kick off the season, we’re really proud of the performance the team put out. The girls left everything they could out there and put in a massive effort,” Clark says.  

The women are in second place of their competition after their historic win. 

Pakuranga Rugby Results  

PURC Premier Men vs Eden Premier Men  

Half Time: Eden 7 – Pakuranga 12 

Full Time: Eden 14 – Pakuranga 34 

PURC Women’s 10’s (Belles) vs College Rifles Women’s 10’s  

Half Time: College Rifles 27 – Pakuranga 12 

Full Time: College Rifles 27 – Pakuranga 38 

PURC Premier Reserve Men vs Eden Premier Reserve Men  

Half Time: Eden 8 – Pakuranga 33 

Full Time: Eden 25 – Pakuranga 36 

PURC U21 Men vs Ponsonby U21 Men  

Half Time: Ponsonby 0 – Pakuranga 21 

Full Time: Ponsonby 19 – Pakuranga 28 

PURC U85’s vs Karaka U85’s– Under 85kg National Cup  

Full Time: Karaka 8 – Pakuranga 14  

Other Premier Men Results:  

Waitakere LBD – Ponsonby WBD 

Waitemata 14 – University 33 

College Rifles 20 – Suburbs 23 

Marist 5 – Manukau Rovers 82 

Otahuhu 3 – Grammar TEC 43 

Auckland Club Rugby Premier Men standings  

Pakuranga Rugby Fixtures 13/05/23:  

PURC Premier Men vs Otahuhu Premier Men – 2:45pm (Sturges Park). 

PURC Women’s 10’s (Belles) vs Patumahoe Women’s 10’s – 1pm (Lloyd Elsmore Park, Field 1). 

PURC Premier Development Men vs Otahuhu Premier Development Men – 1pm (Sturges Park). 

PURC U21 Men vs University Blue U21 Men – 1pm (Lloyd Elsmore Park, Field 5).